Bleichenbacher, Lukas

This contribution discusses two case studies that illustrate the experiences of mobility students who were studying abroad during the first outbreak of COVID - 19. The case studies have emerged from a larger longitudinal, mixed - method study, which included a n interview study with six international students planned for spring 2020. Due to the COVID - 19 pandemic, all participants had to terminate their stay early. Hence, the original interview study was adapted to focus on the impact of COVID - 19 on students' soc ial contacts, linguistic practices , and emotional well - being in these exceptional circumstances. In the present contribution, we understand study abroad as a rite of passage, an important time in the life of young adults, and we draw on insights from previ ous research on educational travels with transformative potential to make sense of the students' differing reactions to their early return

This article presents a comparative study of the oral English proficiency gains of two groups of students, namely mobility students before and during the COVID-19 pandemic (n?=?26), who were matched for background variables such as pre-departure oral proficiency, duration of stay, accommodation, and destination. Oral proficiency was measured before and after the stay using the Oral Proficiency Interview by Computer (OPIc). Results indicate that students staying abroad before the outbreak of the pandemic made significant progress while students staying abroad during the pandemic did not. Student comments suggest that this may be related to the measures taken to contain the pandemic, limiting opportunities for social networking and interaction. However, this impression could not be supported by statistical analyses of the self-reported number of social contacts or amount of English language use. The results point to the need for consideration of qualitative aspects of social interactions and language use and a more frequent and situated assessment of these.

La Conférence latine des Chefs de l'instruction publique souhaite analyser, dans le cadre du débat actuel sur la place des langues nationales, certaines modalités de gestion différente des dotations et des contraintes horaires pour la répartition de l'enseignement entre deuxième langue nationale et langue étrangère. Diverses idées ont été évoquées par l'un/e ou l'autre membre de l'AP-CIIP et la Conférence a convenu d'en reparler en mars dans un contexte plus structuré et en se fondant, notamment, sur le recueil d'avis d'experts d'une part, d'un état des lieux précis d'autre part. Le questionnement porte sur l'opposition entre 1. un cadre commun relativement strict précisant à partir de quelle année scolaire et avec quelle dotation horaire minimale introduire quelle langue, et 2. unecontrainteforfaitairequidonnerait,auxcantonss'engageantàlarespecter,toutelatitudequantà l'organisation concrète de l'enseignement. La CIIP souhaiterait connaître les appréciations et arguments des experts sur ces perspectives, sur la base d’ observations concrètes et de résultats de recherche, ou de meilleures solutions à proposer. L’objectif est de mettre en commun et en confrontation divers brefs avis d'experts, fondés sur des analyses concrètes à partir de données empiriques, de leurs propres recherches ou de la littérature sur laquelle ils se fondent.